Never Had A Doubt
by His Royal Pratness
Summary: Merlin x OC: Lady Cassandra seems to be very fond of Prince Arthur's manservant.
1. Enter Sir Elek

Today is a fine day for the people of Camelot. The townspeople gathered around the town square to witness the arrival of the foreign knights, who will be competing against each other and their prince to win the title of victory. The servants of the Camelot castle worked outside to get the tents set up for their incoming guests. Those who worked at the armory polished all the armors and weapons in case they are of use in the duration of the next five days.

Then there's Merlin, the manservant of the crowned prince. His job seems like the most complicated of them all. Standing behind Prince Arthur himself, Merlin struggled to adjust the breastplate that seems to refuse staying steady in place. His panicked fingers fumbled uselessly at the metallic material as he cursed the object for not adjusting itself.

"You are so useless, Merlin" the prince groaned as he shifted uncomfortably from his servant's failed job.

Merlin mumbled to himself until he finally pushed the upper body armor in place. Exhausted, he grinned widely at his accomplished work. He finally dressed the prince successfully in armor. The task is completed well, despite the fact that it took him longer than it should on a normal day.

"The armor refused to place itself, it's as if it's a _bit_ tight on you" Merlin responded, smiling at him cheekily.

A humorous glint flashed in the servant's eyes as the prince stared at him, offended.

"Merlin" he groaned, "did you just call me _fat_?"

The said servant stumbled through his words, sounding quite incoherent to his master. His massive hand gestures didn't help the prince understand a word he is saying. Prince Arthur remained suspicious and confused as he raised an eyebrow, still offended.

"I am _not_ fat" the prissy prince folded his arms across his chest stubbornly.

Merlin shrugged simply, a cheeky smile still plastered on his face. He walked over to the prince's window, pushing the curtains aside to enhance himself to the view of outside. A crowd of the common Camelot people gathered around the square, leaving plenty of room for the foreign knights to enter. Some Camelot knights, cloaked in red, lined up in organized order on the steps of the castle. They smiled brightly and proudly at the people, giving them occasional waves when being gestured to.

"Father" Merlin turned from the crowd of anticipation outside to look up at the king—who just entered to his son's chambers.

"Sire" the servant bowed quickly to King Uther.

The king returned a slight nod to Merlin before refocusing his attention on the prince. He placed a gauntlet-clad hand atop of his son's plated shoulders. A proud smile was passed between father and son, leaving Merlin no choice but to distract himself with other chores. While the servant went on to make the prince's bed—something he should've done earlier in the morning, King Uther spoke to his son.

"I know you will not disappoint me" the older man murmured to his son.

Prince Arthur looked up at his father, a smile of reassurance plastered on his face. Not once had he ever lost a tournament in the presence of his father. He was highly-trained at weaponry arts since childhood, the main reason being of his father's constant check-up on his progress. His father encouraged him to fight as his skills and age progressed. Arthur, never wanting to fail his father, took his training seriously night and day.

This tournament will be no different than the ones he encountered in the past.

"I won't, father" he told his father genuinely.

The king stared at his son, proud tears glistening in his eyes.

"I couldn't have asked for a better son" the king whispered quietly, self-consciously making sure that the servant didn't see his moment of vulnerability.

Prince Arthur returned the same proud look in his smiling face.

"As do I a better father"

The king gave his son's shoulder a pat once more before pacing out of the room. Arthur sighed and walked over to the window.

"That was touching" Merlin placed a hand over his heart, smiling at the prince tauntingly.

Prince Arthur turned to his servant with a look of fury on his face. Angrily, he picked up a vase by the window and flung it across the room at the cheeky boy. Merlin, eying the flying vase with an expression of shock, ducked in time for the vase to collide against the wall behind him—instead of his face.

A grin returned to Merlin's face as he learned of his prince's failure.

"I'll get you next time" the prince muttered, looking out the window once more.

He noticed that his red cloaked knights left their waiting spots on the stone steps. Instead, they gathered at the front of the square to greet the incoming knights, whose servants trailed closely behind on horses.

Arthur turned to Merlin and shot the manservant a fake plastered smile.

"Why don't you go back to Gaius and see if he finds you useful? I need to attend to my duties as the crowned prince of Camelot"

When he turned, Merlin trailed on right behind his master. There is no way he is missing the arrivals of the knights, even the townspeople who lacked position in the castle gets to see it. Besides, Merlin is not the servant to actually follow the orders of his master.

After a group of inaudible mumbles of insisting to his master, Arthur finally gave in, finding that the cheeky servant's ramblings are even more annoying than his presence during introductions. They walked out of the castle, Merlin speeding up his walk to match the prince's.

When the pair stepped foot out of the castle ground, the first arrival walked over to them, pulling his helmet off his head. His long, blonde hair flew against the wind as he bowed down to the prince.

"Prince Arthur, we meet again"

"Sir Ryland, what a pleasure" the prince responded, patting on his peer's armored shoulder.

Merlin stood beside his master patiently and almost awkwardly. It seems that the prince made past encounters with most of the knights that arrived to say their greetings. With a knowing expression on the blonde prince's face, he spoke to the fellow knights—involving handshakes and conversations that were spoken of in the past.

The servant is as lost as ever—and extremely bored. Every introduction provided by Prince Arthur seems more like the rejoicing reunion. Merlin has to listen to his master's history with the particular knight and try to look interested as each member bragged about past experiences. He would have preferred being in the company of Gaius, the court physician and his official guardian.

Gaius' prolonged ramblings of medicine is far more interesting than Sir Isode's gloating of his latest win against a group of bandits that attacked him in the woods.

Then came a knight that actually amused Merlin—after what seems like an hour of standing beside Prince Arthur.

"Sir Elek!" Arthur exclaimed, even before the knight had taken off his helmet.

Merlin noticed that unlike the other knights, this one didn't have a servant behind him. The knight didn't take off his helmet but jumped off his horse to confront the prince. Merlin wondered how Arthur was fast to recognize this particular knight.

"Prince Arthur" the knight's voice sounded an octave higher than most of the others that came before him.

The manservant wasn't the only one to notice because Arthur shot the _Sir Elek_ a look of confusion. Elek cleared his throat and bowed to the prince.

"Elek, the last time I remembered, you had a deeper voice" the prince patted the knight's shoulder.

Sir Elek looked down at his feet before looking back up with a shrug.

"Why don't you take off your helmet? It's been a while since I saw your handsome-craving face" Arthur chuckled along at his own joke to which Merlin grimaced.

The knight glanced sideways in daze, as if he didn't know what request was being asked by the prince. He glanced at Merlin slightly, then back at the prince.

"Uh…" he cleared his throat again.

"Elek, is something wrong?" the prince raised an eyebrow at his old comrade, taking a step closer.

Sir Elek took a step back, tumbling down the stone steps in accident. A squeak left the knight's mouth as he struggled to get up from his slump. Merlin chuckled to himself until he was shushed by the prince. He could already tell that this Sir Elek wasn't your typical fighter.

"Merlin, go help him up" Prince Arthur commanded, pointing at the fallen knight.

Merlin smirked, climbing down the white washed steps to reach for Elek. He held out a hand for the knight to take and he gladly took it. As Merlin pulled him up, he noticed the lack of weight from this young lad. He could tell that Elek was lighter than his own master, but also lighter than most men.

"Thank you" his voice was deeper now, which confused Merlin for a second.

The two returned to Arthur's side as the knights continued their conversation.

"Ahh Arthur, so here's what happened" Sir Elek leaned closer to the prince, voice below a whisper.

Prince Arthur cocked his blonde eyebrows. Sir Elek is acting weird, unlike his normally cool composure.

"I had an accident involving a dragon and a sorcerer" Merlin's eyes widened, "my face is scarred and swollen from the ending result of the attack. I refuse to show my previously handsome face to everyone including you, sire"

"So you are never going to take off your helmet?" the prince clarified.

"Not until the scars and wounds on my face heals"

"Then how are you going to attend to our feasts? You can't possibly wear a helmet and eat?" Arthur asked.

"No, sire. I will not dine in your company, anyone's perhaps?" Elek bowed to the prince again before turning to leave.

"Wait, Elek!"

The knight sighed deeply before turning to the prince.

"Where's your servant boy?" Arthur asked.

"I didn't bring him along. He is ill, my lord" Elek tilted his head and released the reign of his horse.

Arthur tapped on Merlin's shoulder before gesturing to the knight.

"If you ever need anything, my servant boy, Merlin will attend to your needs. He will be given the duty to make sure you are well-armed and ready for battle"

Sir Elek bowed to the prince once more.

"Thank you, sire" then he turned to Merlin, "and Merlin, I am looking forward to your services. Now I must take my leave"

"Of course I am looking forward to serving you" Merlin shot his master a sarcastic smile that told the exact opposite.

In return, the prince smirked at his servant. Then the next knight arrived and Merlin knew that the rest of his afternoon is going to end to waste.


	2. Dashing Knight

Merlin entered the tent, a few moments before the opening of the tournament, almost sighing in relief that Sir Elek already dressed himself in armor. The servant boy glanced at the knight hopefully as he placed a comforting hand atop of Sir Elek's armor. Sir Elek squeaked loudly, jumping in fright. He turned with a plastered fake smile on his face.

"Sorry I startled you" Merlin apologized, trying to ignore the girlish behavior of the strange knight.

Sir Elek shook his head, attempting to brush this tension-filled atmosphere off. He studied Merlin as the servant self-consciously looked away from his gaze. Merlin whistled, eyes wandering to the items on the table. He noticed a sapphire gem comb on the table, laying there beside the belt loop. His eyebrows shot up, forcing Elek to follow his gaze.

Elek fumbled though his desk, snatching the sapphire comb off the table. Obviously, Merlin still stared on at the knight in suspicion. The servant opened his mouth to speak, only to be quickly interrupted by Sir Elek.

"It is my sister's" he said, holding the comb up with less shame and embarrassment as previously.

Merlin nodded in understanding, feeling slightly comforted that Sir Elek's customs aren't totally insane. He didn't know what a tough, noble knight would need a sapphire-gemmed comb for. The fact that it was given to him by his _female_ sister made much more sense.

"She gave it to me as a talisman of luck. I believe that her soul is with me, urging me to fight and _win_" Elek continued, feeling more comfortable around the manservant now.

The servant didn't question him anymore, because excessive questioning would eventually annoy the knight—just as his cheeky comments would annoy Prince Arthur. The last thing he wanted was to get on _both_ of his masters' bad side. He should at least have one civil to him, while he let the other scream at him out of boredom or frustration.

"It's about time you get up outside in formation. Arthur is going to kill me if I don't get you two out and ready on time" Merlin mumbled, gesturing toward the belt on the table.

Elek nodded, reaching for his belt loop. He wrapped it around his lower waist and squealed really loudly when he felt a pair of hands around it. Merlin snatched his hands away in alarm as he backed up from the knight. He noticed that Sir Elek has issues with physical contact. Merlin should leave him to put on his own armor. The least he can do to help the knight is to get his horse ready.

"Sorry" Merlin mumbled as he backed out of the tent.

Sir Elek looked at himself in the mirror, helmet still on. He sighed in exhaustion and cursed himself for his overactive instincts. Hopefully, he hadn't scared Merlin off completely. The last thing he wanted was for the servant boy to tattle tale on the prince on how wimpy the supposedly brave Sir Elek can be. Besides, he felt some guilt for scaring Merlin off like that.

He left the tent to see Merlin tending to his white horse. The servant nodded at him slightly, gesturing toward the horse. This time, the servant boy moved aside to let the knight climb onto the horse instead of trying to help him up. He didn't want to freak out Sir Elek again, judging by the reactions of the attempted physical contact.

Merlin waved the knight off as he tugged at his horse's reigns toward the formation that was about complete. He joined the other knights and their horses, lining up behind the knight that reeked of ale. A wave of disgust washed over him as he truly inhaled the unpleasant scent of that ale-drunken knight. Elek really tried his best to ignore the irritation of his nose as King Uther got up from his spot on the balcony and said a few encouraging words about the tournament. He also bragged a bit about his son's victory during last year's event.

Sir Elek shook his head as the horses ahead of him leaped forward by the force of their owners. Cheers erupted in the arena when the band of knights entered to their viewing. Elek tugged at the reigns and smiled at the crowd, appreciating the fact that their cheering continued on tirelessly. He took the time to glance at the king and Lady Morgana. They sat side by side, both smiling at the commotion of this wondrous event.

After introductions, it is said that the first battle of the tournament would be the fight between Prince Arthur and Sir Isaac. All the knights retreated back to their tents, where their servants waited for them with intentions of comfort. Sir Elek returned to no servants in his tent but he didn't mind. Merlin is probably inside Prince Arthur's tent, preparing him for the first battle of this knight tournament. It would make more sense for him to attend to his legitimate master—who also happens to be next in battle.

Sir Elek still refused to remove the helmet from his head. The heat is radiating off his body with no access air, but he is desperate to keep that helmet on. His reputation is more important than a silly problem of melting under the pressure of heat. The sweat is beading of his head and he is disgusted by it. However, it cannot shadow his drive for a good reputation as he has kept with much effort. Nothing in the world can convince him to give it up for just a second.

"Sir Elek, do you need anything?" the knight turned to witness Merlin's presence. He scratched the back of his head as he chuckled weakly.

The knight shook his head, believing that the servant needs a break. He has to service two contestants of the tournament. The task already sounds unbelievable, and yet Merlin is making the impossible seem quite tolerable. There was a slight look of exhaustion on his face but to him, it seems effortless. The look of familiarity and casualty on his face proved this series of task no problem to him. He is probably used to overworking on the prince's account. Elek wouldn't be surprised.

"I'm fine, thanks Merlin" the knight replied.

Merlin gestured for the knight to come over. Elek raised an eyebrow in question. A tint of a smile appeared on the servant's face as he pointed to outside.

"The first battle is about to begin. Don't you want to watch it?"

Elek nodded slightly as he almost failed to remember Prince Arthur's excelling ability at combat. He has yet to witness it the first time within this year. Besides, it'll be wonderful to study his opponents in case they strike up in battle. People seek for wonderful battle strategies, thinking it has everything to do with improving weaponry arts. The real strategy is to study your possible opponents. That way, you get the feel of how to attack and predict their next move.

The prince's servant glanced at the knight hopefully before he finally agreed to watch the battle. He followed Merlin outside, past all the other knights and servants, and into the side stage besides a very attractive young woman. Elek eyed her slightly, tilting his head to the side. She looked to be a servant as well, dressed in a dress not looking to belong to a lady. Who would bring a female servant along to Camelot during the tournament?

"Sir Elek, it is my pleasure of meeting you" the knight reached for the woman's hand as he bowed in courtesy.

The woman looked taken aback as she held her other hand to her heart. He heard Merlin chuckle from beside him.

"It's alright Guinevere"

The woman smiled at Sir Elek with the encouragement of Merlin's comfort before bowing elegantly herself.

"I am Guinevere, the Lady Morgana's servant" she introduced, smiling kindly at the knight.

"I am Sir Elek of Perlisia" Sir Elek returned the gesture.

The starting of the battle between Sir Isaac and Prince Arthur stole their attention away from each other. Everyone studied the battling pair intensely and almost carefully, most hoping for the win of their prince while others tried developing battle strategies from their styles of combat. Sir Elek was almost amazed at how elegantly the prince moved in battle. His swings and instincts are as swift as one can be. He ducked or dodged attacks easily, surprising Elek a bit.

Arthur really is going to be a challenge to fight against. It seems that King Uther is proud of his son, for his combat abilities is something rare to find.

It isn't before long until Prince Arthur's final slash at his opponent, knocking him helplessly to the floor. The victor pointed the sharp edge of his weapon at the neck of Sir Isaac, staying in the position for the majority of the crowd to cheer and clap at the first victory of the prince. A few moments later, Arthur pulled his sword away from Isaac, helping him up. The knight congratulated the prince in a friendly gesture of shoulder-tapping and that was the closing of the first battle.

Merlin quickly ushered to Arthur's side when he appeared. He took his sword and followed the prince inside to the tent. His red scarf blew at his face as the gust of wind collided into him. Poor Merlin nearly tripped himself as he made it into the tent behind Arthur. Elek chuckled to himself, amused by his clumsiness.

"That's Merlin for you" Guinevere commented, noting the knight's interest to her friend's ways.

Sir Elek nodded; smiling a smile that is not apparent to anyone's viewing. Guinevere muttered some excuse about Lady Morgana needing her before departing from Elek's side. His head perked up when a squire of Camelot confronted him. He informed him that the next battle involves Sir Elek and Sir Isode. The knight thanked the squire before retreating back to his tent.

He heaved out a sigh and attempted to remove his helmet. Just as his hands reached on both sides of the metallic headwear, the sound of footsteps stopped his actions. He turned to see that Merlin has entered.

"Don't let me stop you" the servant gestured toward the helmet, shrugging nonchalantly.

Elek smirked, aware that Merlin is just dying for him to remove his helmet. The identity of this knight is just a mystery to him.

"I was only readjusting it, no need to remove it" Elek muttered, more to himself than to the servant.

Merlin didn't say anything else as he attempted to readjust the armor of the knight. Elek shifted away slightly, jerking away from the servant's touch. The manservant mumbled another string of apologies and backed up from the frightened knight. He sensed that there is definitely something about the knight that screams suspicion. This knight is hiding something, always so cautious and taken aback by contact. Merlin needs to get to the bottom of this because if this knight faces Arthur, there might be a chance that his prince is in danger.

Elek noticed that Merlin seems to be contemplating on something. There is a note of suspicion on his face expression and he immediately noticed that Merlin is sensing something about him. The armored knight shook his head. A servant cannot be that wise to figure it out. He will count on Merlin's lack of intelligence to keep his secret.

"So Merlin…" the knight purposely interrupted the servant's train of thoughts.

Merlin shook his head slightly before refocusing on the knight.

"I was wondering…" Sir Elek pondered, "… do you often receive the affection of beautiful girls?"

The servant in question raised his eyebrows, so confused by this knight. Who would ask such questions? A knight cannot be worrying over his love life, or lack of love life. He didn't expect Sir Elek to have much sense of humor, or such interest to the number of girls who would take interest to him. This is getting ridiculous. What is Sir Elek hiding?

"May I ask why you would be interested?" Merlin finally asked, unable to answer the question.

Sir Elek barked out a very high pitched laugh, the ones gossip-worthy girls muster out. His volume of laughter frightens the servant. Merlin concluded that something is seriously wrong with Sir Elek. He must be plotting something evil, against the existence of Prince Arthur.

"I mean, you are very attractive Merlin"

"What?" Merlin stared at the knight blankly.

The knight did a double take, just realizing what he just said to the servant. His compliment to the servant was said by accident. He didn't need Merlin to think strangely of him for complimenting his appeal.

"I mean…" Elek spluttered out, "Arthur never comments on your handsome features?"

Merlin's dazed look quickly turned into amusement. He shook his head, almost as if he wanted to laugh loudly. This time, it was Elek who crossed his arms in confusion.

"You don't know Arthur as much as I do, I suppose" was how the servant responded.

Elek looked around the room, desperate for a change of topic. He didn't want to talk about Merlin's attractive force to women. It is just too dangerous for his reputation to be speaking so fondly of another male, let alone a servant.

"So do you know anything about this Sir Isode?" he asked dumbly.

The manservant shrugged as a small smile tugged at his lips.

"He killed a group of bandits that attacked him in the woods, I would be scared if I were you" there was a humorous, sarcastic tint to his voice.

Elek laughed—a lower pitched laugh this time. He shook his head and placed a hand on Merlin's shoulder. At a moment like this, he is thankful for Merlin's sense of humor. This characteristic trait is needed in a lot of servants. It is quite amusing to have a manservant like Merlin. He can imagine why Arthur is so eager to keep him, despite the fact that he doesn't show his appreciation.

A few moments of tensed silence formed between them as their eyes wandered around to various parts of the room. They did not know what to say to one another, for one must be keeping a secret while the other is dying of suspicion. There is nothing that needs to be said for the two to realize that they found each other out. Merlin knew that Sir Elek is aware of his own suspicion. Sir Elek knew that Merlin is aware of his keeping of a secret.

Finally, Merlin stopped his wandering and interrupted the silence.

"Are you prepared to fight against the big-bad-Isode?"

Sir Elek let out a smirk.

"I'm squirming inside my armor"

Merlin returned the laugh and followed the knight outside the tent. He saw that Sir Isode, the man he encountered during the introduction with Prince Arthur the day before, is talking to his servant as he is being helped onto the horse. Elek followed the servant's gaze to his opponent and smirked.

"Unlike him, I can get on my own horse without a servant's help"

"Remember, he killed bandits" Merlin teased.

Elek shook his head as he hopped on his own horse. Giving Merlin one last glance, he tugged at the reigns for the horse to move forward onto the stage arena. The crowd cheered loudly for the knights as they hopped off their horses, leaving for the servants to tend to them. Elek studied Isode carefully, eying him as he rounded the stage for the glorious cheers of the audience. He rolled his eyes at his fame-hungered opponent.

Unlike Isode, Elek stood only on his side of the field, readying his weapon for combat. He swung his sword a few times, waiting almost impatiently for Isode to finish his interaction with the Camelot residents. Isode grinned at one of the ladies seated on the first row before pulling his helmet down over his _pretty_ face. Elek smirked as his opponent focused on him.

Within seconds, Isode thought he would make the first move, slashing diagonally at Elek's right arm. The strange knight blocked the attack quickly with ease, using the force of his own weapon. Then Isode went for another strategy, stabbing at his left shoulder. Elek smirked as he dodged to his right. As he moved over to the side, he found it right to take a swipe at Isode while he focused on Elek's non-existent left shoulder. Luckily for the fame-driven knight, his instincts told him to pull his sword out to the left. His tilted sword clashed against Elek's, forcing the latter to stumble back slightly.

Elek shook his head, deciding best to make a comeback. He can't possibly lose his first battle of the tournament. He has to win, make it to the finals, and hopefully defeat King Arthur on his way up there. With the motivation driven to his head, he ducked in time when Isode decided to take a horizontal swing at his head. Then he returned with an uppercut, slashing upwards at the upper torso of his opponent. A long trail of a cut formed from Isode's lower stomach to his upper chest.

The victim hissed at his new wound as Elek took advantage of the time to get up from his underdog position under Isode. When he got up, Isode is ready for revenge on the visibly harsh wound. The wounded knight took another diagonal swipe, but at Elek's left side this time. The smaller knight pulled out his sword, immediately clashing with Isode's striking ones. Their swords remained crossed for a few moments, both strengthening their grip on the sword handle.

When Elek found an opening on Isode's other side, he purposely decreased his force on his weapon, allowing Isode's sword to overpower their weaponry wrestle. As Elek's sword tilted backwards to him, he quickly tossed it to his right, expertly snatching it with his other hand. Isode's eyes widened in mild confusion as Elek used his right hand to slash his sword across the wounded knight's middle chest. With a new wound across his chest horizontally, he angrily took another swipe at his opponent's head.

Elek was caught off guard due to the succession of his previous attack that he did not expect his opponent to strike back so soon. Isode's sword slashed against his helmet harshly. Elek hissed in pain as he felt the other knight's sword collide through the metal material of his helmet, slicing into his left cheek. Isode smirked victoriously at his accomplishment, waving at the girl he previously flirted with before battle. Elek noted that the girl returned the gesture almost immediately. Shaking his head, Elek slashed at his opponent. Isode returned to his senses, blocking the attack with his weapon. His eyes shifted around the smaller knight, seeking for an opening to force him down to the dirt-covered ground. Elek rolled his eyes when he noticed how obvious Isode is at combat.

When you are seeking an opening from your opponent, you are not supposed to let them know you are looking. It just builds up their security and defense. Elek took the time to take another swipe at him. Isode licked his lips, blocking the attack in speed. Then the two continued sparring, smashing their weapons together harshly, each time forcing a louder sound in result of collision.

Elek licked his lips and decided to play around with his opponent for a while. He continued the sword-clashing, trying to confuse his opponent with a pattern of strikes. He slashed right and left, deciding on a pattern of left-right-left. Elek made sure the pattern was memorized inside Isode's head, continuing the patterns a few times. It did cross his mind that Isode might be the one to surprise him with a different attack, but he kept in mind to be ready for any sudden outbursts.

However, Isode decided to play it safe as his eyes still wandered around him helplessly for an opening. Elek shook his head, deciding to just end this battle once and for all. As he made the left-right—he leaned to his right as Isode inserted his balance and weapon to the left side. Elek stuck his foot out, directly in front of Isode as he moved forward to advance on the smaller knight. The knight tripped over Elek's foot as he landed face down against the dirt ground.

The crowd cheered wildly as the victor pointed his sword at Isode's neck. After a few moments, Elek removed the sword from his enemy's neck before he attempted to help him up. Isode turned on his back and glared on at Elek. The victorious knight shrugged lightly when the other bigger knight ignored his offered hand. Shrugging, Elek turned from his opponent and made his way back to his tent. A cut across his cheek forced him to speed up his process to go in hiding.

He passed Merlin on his way, immediately being stopped.

"Good fight, sir" Merlin complimented.

Elek nodded desperately, eying the direction to his tent.

"Look Merlin, I have to go… you should check on Arthur, perhaps…?"

Merlin nodded, smiling at the knight.

"I will"

The knight turned away from the servant and immediately charged into his tent, closing the curtains of the tent. Merlin looked at the closed tent, sighing loudly. Something is up with Elek. Judging by his combat skills during his battle with Sir Isode, this strange knight can be competition to Arthur if he did plan on killing the prince. Merlin shook his head. He cannot let this secretive knight harm his master.

Instead of listening to Sir Elek's request, he snuck his way to the tent, flicking part of the curtain open to stick an eye inside. Ahead of him was a curtain of long, wavy light blonde hair. At first, he was surprised at how long a man desired to leave his hair; but then realized that Sir Elek isn't a _sir_. This knight isn't even a man.

Sir Elek is a false title given to such an ennoble woman who dared to attempt pulling off a charade. Merlin noticed that the woman is indeed a very beautiful woman. She hissed to herself as she placed white cloth over the cut Isode made across her cheek.

Shaking his head, Merlin left the tent. He is now alarmed that Sir Elek isn't all that _she_ seemed. Prince Arthur must be in grave danger.


End file.
